domenica 30 dicembre 2012

This is Ekatarina Velika's second album. Every song here is an anthem for the fans of the band, and at least two of them, "Kao da je bilo nekad" and "Ti si sav moj bol", are universally known all across ex-Yugoslavia.The deluxe production of Dragan Čačinović adds even more power to the formula, which places the band in a no man's land where the melancholy of post-punk meets the muscular epicness of MTV's rockstars (I know, it seems a contradiction in terms, but this is why EKV were so unique).

martedì 18 dicembre 2012

Ekatarina Velika was Milan Mladenović's second band. It was founded in 1982 with the help of keyboardist Margita Stefanović. The original name of the project was Katarina II. After the departure of guitar player Dragomir Mihajlović in 1984, Milan and Margita decided to adopt the new, definitive name.This is the second album of the band, the first as Ekatarina Velika, and the first of their classics."Oči boje meda" is an elaborated, chamaleontic post-punk number (it became a mainstream hit in Yugoslavia, launching the band into the pop-rock stardom); "Zaboravi ovaj grad" is another crazy song, with a synthesizer sound similar to that of Japan's Richard Barbieri; "Tatoo" is a life-affirming rock anthem, marked by a tight rhythm section. After such a powerful start, the rest of the album sounds more relaxed, but it is able to offer other fascinanting moments, such as "Ruke", with its liquid keyboard landscapes, or "Modro i zeleno", with its prosperous bassline.

sabato 15 dicembre 2012

Today I'm starting to explore the discography of Milan Mladenović. Dead of pancreatic cancer in 1994, when he was only 36, Milan is still one of Serbia's national heroes. He was probably the most eclectic mind in the history of ex-YU rock. His adventure lasted from 1980 to the year of his death, through three historical bands: Šarlo Akrobata, Katarina II/Ekatarina Velika, and Angel's Breath.

Considering that every project was deeply different from each other, my opinion is that Milan can be ranked up there with the great geniuses of international music. He was to Yugoslavian music what Caetano Veloso is to Brazilian music, what David Bowie is to British music, what Franco Battiato is to Italian music, and so on.

After that brief wave of mainstream success, the band recorded this full-lenght debut album, characterized by an experimental, abrasive mixture of punk, funk, dub, ska, and noise. Their two hits were excluded from the tracklist, and the Jugoton label did not promote the record as expected, generating a commercial failure (only 10.000 copies sold at the time). The project disbanded soon after.

Milan Mladenović would have founded Ekatarina Velika, while bass player Dušan Kojić created Disciplina Kičme (another important band, which I will post sooner or later).

sabato 1 dicembre 2012

Recorded live in Zagreb (October 21, 1981).Release date: March, 1982.Produced by Branimir Stulić.Triple vynil, double CD.Two hours of music. 44 songs. Eleven originally appeared on their self-titled debut album, fourteen on "Sunčana strana ulice", six on various singles, while thirteen are brand new songs which you would not find on any studio album.